Seven Dates in May

Mrs. Moore's comment about having a Jewish attorney reminded me of something that happened a quarter-century or so ago. Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman and I had successfully prevented a cemetery, circa 800 AD from being mined for gravel in an upstate village. As part of the cemetery had been “excavated” by both professional and amateur archaeologists in the late 1950s and early '60s, Paul tasked me with seeing if I could locate the human remains and burial goods for re-interment. Most were in the basement of an area NYS University museum.

I learned that one set of remains was located in the village's high school. The science department had a display, featuring the skeletal remains of a mammal, a Native American, an amphibian, and a reptile. I called the superintendent's office, to inform them that, as they received federal aid, they needed to return the remains for reburial. The superintendent called me back, and began our conversation by telling me that as a college student, he was friends with an Oneida woman.

Not able to help myself, I responded by saying that one of my college roommates was a Caucasian. He replied, “Really?” Then I believe he realized I was being rude. He was ignorant, while I was crude. I later learned that he and his wife were liberals, though we never really hit it off after that. Too bad, since that school might have been a good place for Paul and I to speak.

Mr. and Mrs. Moore, on the other hand, are not good people. They are unnatural toxins, gurgling to the surface of American culture. I watched some of Roy's supporters, singing church hymns and praying for “God” to perform a miracle after it was announced that Doug Jones had won the election. As if the universe needed to set things straight in Alabama – after the voters already had.

Religion can be nice, of course, but not when religious people want to deny others their human rights. It is good to see people like Senator Cory Booker noting that what took place in Alabama was a movement. And it is exactly the type of movement we need in every state, primarily (but not exclusively) for the 2018 elections. We need that type of movement to insure those very rights that Roy Moore wants to deny people.

In a thread last week, friend “democrank” noted that Donald Trump is a forest fire, supported by arsonists, and that we need a united effort to stop him. I like that. It reminds me of something Carl Jung said about Hitler being the mouthpiece for the collective unconscious of the Germans circa WW2. The same is true of Trump's relationship with the radical right and the christian right (which overlap).

Trump had contacted Bush the Elder in 1988, offering to serve as vice president. In the years since, he was focused on identifying a path to the White House. When President Obama humiliated Donald at the correspondences' dinner, he became o0bsessed with “revenge.” Trump was already invested in the “birther” nonsense, to solidify his political base. Soon he would seek to expand upon this.

In his early speeches in the republican presidential primaries, Trump experimented with various lines, to measure his audiences' responses. This allowed him to identify which hateful code words he would continue to emphasize in future speeches. In that sense, like a Hitler, it is clear that Trump is no “genius” of communications, but rather, a common hate-monger planting poison seeds in the gutters of American society.

His perverted version of “making America great again” was a simplistic appeal to the common hatreds and prejudices of those who want the United States to return to a place where non-white citizens “knew their place,” where “law and order” was maintained by police brutality, and women were obscene but not heard. A place where a True Detective's season one southern judge could run for the US Senate, as part of a religious crusade. A place where pathetic people such as Mrs. Moore would be okay with the Ku Klux Klan's efforts to protect her brand of christianity. Where the president serves as a Freudian wizard of Id. And Trump has purposely thrown a match on the Volatile Organic Compounds that have seeped to the surface; hence, democrank's wildfires.

The movement in Alabama showed exactly what is needed to put this nightmare in check. It requires that conscious people invest the hard work, on a steady basis, to bring the majority of people into an effort to make this nation live up to its promise. And the Democratic Party has the duty to help lead the way.

1. Keep On Writing

"unnatural toxins, gurgling to the surface of American culture" is so exactly descriptive and that of
"Donald Trump is a forest fire, supported by arsonists" as well. They, he, Bannon and all the corrupters such as Zinke are trying to burn down, destroy and ruin everything.

16. trump has a talent for bullying, not much more.

20. Right.

I often think of back when Mike Tyson was out of control, and Trump wanted to buy his contract. I wish he had, as Mike could have prevented Trump from having a political career. Not that Trump ever tries to bully anyone who can fight back, of course. But Mike was easily annoyed by people like Trump back then.

15. Right!

7. Another interpretation

Would it not be a kinder and still realistic hypothesis that when the high school principal said he had been friends with a First Nations woman in college that he was simply trying to make a human connection with you?

Is it much different when someone identifies themselves as a Tajiki from Tajikistan, the other party says Oh I once knew someone from there?

Is it necessarily his fault that the only Oneida person he knows he met was from long ago? He probably has met several others since without knowing they were Oneida.

We can laugh a little at how it sometimes continues "Do you know so-and-so from ...", as if Tajikistan, Oneida, Onendaga, and (say) Rochester are not large communities.

I do not think there is an equivalency to the way Mrs Moore aped the famous line from the 1950s "Some of my best friends are negros" with their paraphrase referring to jews. The Moore's aping is definitely ignorant, period. Friendship with a few individuals does not exculpate racial stereotyping or racial prejudice (pre-judging members of a group simply for being members of a group).

I'm sure the principal was not using his memory as an excuse for racism. I could be wrong since I did not hear the conversation. There may have been something about the way you introduced yourself that made his remark inappropriate. Was he guilty of racial stereotyping?

Did he agree to help repatriate the remains? Has that effort been successful?

17. Yes, right.

I hope that I made that clear in paragraph #3. I had called several times over a few days, and finally left a message that the district's federal funds required the school to return the remains to Chief Waterman. It was only then that he returned my call, and no doubt was trying to make a connection. I was younger then, and less patient than I am these days. Hence, my self-description of "rude" and "crude."

(There are, among numerous other locations, two Oneida territories in NYS, one in Wisconsin, and a large one in Canada.)

8. Good piece!

I absolutely agree about Trump's lack of genius when it comes to communication. We were bombarded with this silly meme throughout 2016--The Master of Communication.

Really?

If you listen to his 'speeches,' particularly the spontaneous portions, when he goes off-the-cuff, he really says very little and what he does say is usually awkward and circuitous. At his rallies, he loves to throw out red meat and hear the crowd roar. On prepared speeches, he sounds as if he's never listened to the English language--the inflection is off, the pauses out of sync, etc.

During the campaign, he was definitely experimenting with reactive language and symbols. On several occasions, even he appeared taken aback by the response to some of his more volatile comments. Now, he takes the chanting and over-the-top reactions in stride, eager to gin the crowd up. I'm convinced that in the Trumpster's reptilian brain, he thinks of this as . . . love, admiration.

Strange thing about mob love, however. It can turn on you in a heartbeat.

As for the religious zealots, the evangelical community was really exposed for their rank hypocrisy during the Alabama election. The idea that you would let accusations of molestation slide because Moore claimed to be a 'real' Christian, and though not perfect, was somehow a better choice than Doug Jones is beyond appalling. Lots of throw away words like redemption and repentance. Meanwhile, Moore denied everything, called the women liars when he realized that the accusations were getting uglier and uglier.

Digby at Hullabaloo had a really good analyses of the African American vote on Tuesday, how the black community came out for Jones because of the man he is, for how he fought as a prosecutor for those little girls murdered at church. But they also came out for their own self-interests. Poverty is rampant in Deep South Alabama. Healthcare is a huge concern, particularly with sewage problems where open bogs of sewage have ramped up health issues. Education and job opportunities are on the list of 'needs attention, like yesterday.'

My point is that Doug Jones has a huge task in front of him, as does the Democratic Party. We have to address the problems and make real headway in finding the will and the solutions to these basic needs, if we expect to duplicate Tuesday's success.

18. Thanks, peggysue2!

My youngest daughter got a kick out of Trump's speech where his dentures came loose last week. At my age, and knowing so many people who wear dentures, I almost felt a bit sorry for him. But that notion passed quickly. He is a vain and arrogant shithead, and it's always good to see him mess up.

Moore's post-defeat rants about the "meaning" of the results are beyond obnoxious. Since my early teens, I've had difficulty with respecting those who worship Santa God and Stained-Glass Jesus. But those who view "God" as a projection of Roy Moore are beyond contempt -- they are dangerous.

19. Thank you!

I was hoping that someone would notice that. If people work to reclaim our constitutional democracy, the executive branch would oversee the generals, and the Congress would oversee the intelligence community. In the current state, we have generals tasked with babysitting Trump, and the IC's attempt to expose Trump's crimes being stifled by republicans. Without citizen action, that state of affairs will not hold for long. The two alternatives are not good.

23. Yes, I saw

those rumors being posted last night. I was a wee-bit disappointed that no one asked, "Has H2O Man confirmed this, or is it baloney?" For there are operations at many levels against Mr. Mueller, which include attempts to disappoint those who sincerely want him to deliver indictments.